AI, Science Diplomacy, and the United Nations
ETH researchers held a side-event at the UN Summit of the Future.
During the UN’s “Summit of the Future”, ETH researchers held a side-event at the Swiss Mission in New York. The event “AI, Science Diplomacy, and the United Nations” was organised by the ETH Center for Security Studies (CSS) and was attended by various representatives of UN organisations and UN Member States. The event opened with introductory remarks by Adrian Hauri, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN, as well as by Prof. Andreas Wenger and Prof. Menna El-Assady of ETH Zurich. The main presentation was given by Dr. Sascha Langenbach and Mr. Francesco Re. They outlined challenges involved when integrating AI into UN workflow, based on experiences won in data-driven projects with UN partners in recent years. During the ensuing exchange, events participants discussed a series of fundamental issues in global AI governance.
Key Takeaways
- Participants agreed that the UN needs to play a central role in AI governance in the future.
- Among fundamental issues of concern, participants raised aspects of inequity and bias, including those resulting from “data gaps” within and across countries.
- They also commented on the complex global governance landscape. Here, AI-related activities of a myriad of public and private actors need to be coordinated to ensure responsible use of AI while avoiding duplication of efforts.
- With respect to the UN’s own work, discussants noted that more experimentation in concrete AI projects is needed to build familiarity with newly emerging tools.
